The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Printed circuit boards usually include electrical components that radiate electromagnetic waves, which may cause noise or unwanted signals to appear in electrical devices existing within a certain proximity of the radiating electrical components. Accordingly, it is not uncommon to provide grounding for circuitry that emits or is susceptible to electromagnetic radiation, to thereby allow offending electrical charges and fields to be dissipated without disrupting operation.
To accomplish this grounding, some printed circuit boards are provided with pem-type standoffs. To this end, FIG. 1 illustrates a PCB grounding solution in which a conventional pem-type standoff 2 is being used for establishing electrical grounding contact from a ground trace on the PCB 1 to an electromagnetic interference (EMI) ground surface or shield 3.
Additional grounding solutions may include customized contacts that are designed specifically for the particular application. In such applications, the custom design usually depends, for example, on the exact printed circuit board layout and configuration. Other grounding solutions require through holes on multi-layered boards, which may entail re-routing hundreds of ground traces. Plus, the need for additional grounding contacts frequently arises later during the PCB layout. Other example grounding solutions include metal spring-finger contacts or hard fasteners using nuts.